Gene expression underlying enhanced, steroid-dependent auditory sensitivity of hair cell epithelium in a vocal fish

Table 5 Differentially expressed candidate genes in the saccular epithelium with reported auditory functions and comparison to mouse hair cell expression

Top blast hit description	Season	Citation	Mouse HC
Vesicular glutamate transporter 3	R	[81]	+
Estrogen-related receptor β type 1	R	[33]	=
Thyroid hormone receptor α	R/NR	[82]	=
Connexin 43 (Gap junction α-1)	R/NR	[83]	-
Neuronal acetylcholine receptor subunit α-9-ii^a	R	[36]	+
Potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily a member 10	R	[84]	+
Sodium channel protein type 8 subunit α	R	[85]	=
Diaphanous homolog 1-like isoform x2	R	[42]	=^b
Insulin gene enhancer protein isl-1	R	[41]	+
Estrogen-related receptor γ	R/NR	[35]	+
Calcium-activated potassium channel subunit α-1 (BK)	R	[12]	=
Connexin 30 (Gap junction β-6)	R/NR	[65]	-
Trimeric intracellular cation channel type a	R	[86]	+
Voltage-dependent calcium channel subunit α-2 δ-3	R/NR	[87]	=

These differential expressed transcripts have previously been implicated in peripheral auditory function. Shown are the top Blast hit descriptions, the season during which transcript abundance was highest (R: reproductive; NR: non-reproductive), and a citation for the auditory role of that gene. In cases where both seasons are listed, different isoforms were upregulated in both seasons. The "Mouse HC" column represents comparisons of the average normalized mRNA transcript abundances of FAC sorted hair cells to that of surrounding cells from embryonic day 16 and postnatal days 0, 4, and 7 mouse cochlea [29]. We indicated whether expression in hair cells was not substantially different (=), >2 fold higher (+), or >2 fold lower (−), than in the surrounding cells of the cochlea. The first 8 transcripts in this table were further supported by an examination of postnatal day 1 mouse organ of corti [88]. ^aNeuronal acetylcholine receptor subunit α-9-ii (Chrna9-ii) is not present in mammals; comparable genes Chrna9 and Chrna10 transcripts are both more abundant in hair cells than surrounding cells. ^bDiaphanous homolog 1 is not reported in [29] and this comparison is based only on [88]

ISSN: 1471-2164